CJ
Actress Jennifer Cheon Garcia transitioned from modelling to acting at age 19 with her a role in the film”Eve and the Fire Horse”. Since then, the actress – who is of Mexican and Korean heritage – has appeared in a plethora of films and TV series including “Minority Report”, “Zoo”, “Arrow”, “Supernatural”, “The 100”, “Lucifer”, “Travelers” and “The Drive”, for which she won a Leo Award for Best Actress.
Garcia can currently be seen as Ivory on the Syfy series “Van Helsing” and also recently appeared on The CW’s “Supergirl” as Midnight.
Tell us about being cast on “Van Helsing” – do you remember when and where it was when you heard?
Thank you! Yes, I was in my Apartment. It felt so good! I danced.
It’s so refreshing to see someone of race on such a huge show; I imagine it’s a pretty special thing for you too?
It is. It’s great to be a part of this change. To hear it from fans and people around the world really makes me happy. Because this is what life is really all about…Differences coming together and growing. I think it’s important to see that reflected in entertainment.
Being 6’tall, I hear you had your fair share of bullies when you were young? Can you talk about that – and how you’ve learnt to embrace your beautiful stature?
Oh man. I think every day I’m still learning to embrace myself… It’s hard to sometimes when we live in a very photographic world with IG, ect. It’s natural to start comparing yourself to the “perfect” filtered men and woman. Sometimes I forget that I’m okay with how I turned out lol. But it’s been a journey. Growing up, I NEVER saw anyone that looked like me, neither did the kids that were bullying me. So, I now understand why they rejected me, the unknown. I did too. But it wasn’t until a show called “Dark Angel” staring Jessica Alba came out that people started to think I was kind of pretty. So again, showing diversity in our entertainment really helps. Now I hope I’m helping out some tall mixed-race human feel their look and their vibe.
Being based in Vancouver must be handy as an actress – what with all the amazing shows filming there now. Is that how “Supergirl” came about?
It has helped to have ties to Vancouver and with how the industry shifted a lot of film and TV projects North- like Supergirl. I had auditioned for a few other rolls initially, but for reasons, things did not line up right. Until the day the phone rang, and it did! They offered me the part of Midnight. I was so thrilled to become a DC villain! A real dream come true.
I imagine you have to stay tightlipped about any future “Supergirl” appearances but what can we expect from season four of “Van Helsing”? Any teases?
Well spoiler alert if you’re not up to date… but I’m human now. So, for this season you get to see this apocalypse get really real for Ivory. You also get to see her on her journey to find herself; something she never got to do the first time around as a human. She was turned when she was 18 years old. Now she is human again, still fighting, only now she may have found a family with the Van Helsings; something she has been searching for for thousands of years. But she still brings her Sisterhood with her.
You and the cast must be quite tight now? Is it easier working on the show now, compared to those early days?
Oh yeah. We know each other’s process now. There is a familiarity now. I love those guys.
What makes SyFy the perfect home for this one, as opposed to one of the free-to-air channels?
We are a show for people who have an imagination. Maybe a little different and we love different. Syfy lets you let your freak flag fly. It’s perfect for us 🙂
Photography by Storm Santos.
